The 2015 NCAA college football season is already in full swing, but the literally “elite” schools from the country are just about to get their own season started. While the Ivy League only plays 10 games per season and isn’t eligible for a bid at the national title, the teams in this pseudo-exclusive group can still field some very competent lineups to shake up the standings of the FCS.
Read on as we break down the entire conference in preparation for the Ivy League’s 60th season kick-off on September 19. For an even closer look at some of Ivy’s marquee matchups next Saturday, head on over to our previews for Harvard vs. Rhode Island and Yale vs. Colgate.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]2015 Ivy League Season Predictions and Preview
Harvard Crimson
2014 Record: 10-0 (7-0)
Predicted Record: 9-1 (6-1)
The Harvard Crimson certainly painted the entire Ivy League in red last season, steamrolling through the entire conference with a spotless 10-0 record and their second-straight Ivy League title. Harvard was the only team in the FCS to go unbeaten last season, and it seems as if the team is geared up for another monumental run.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]The Crimson have their stellar defense to thank, one that allowed a stifling 12.3 points per game last season (best in the entire FCS). And while the team saw the departures of several key players on D, Harvard’s top the tacklers from 2014 in Eric Medes, Jacob Lindsey and Matt Koran are all set to return. The three linebackers combined for 184 of the Crimson’s tackles last season.
On offense, head coach Tim Murphy would want to see a better year from his starting quarterback, Scott Hosch. Hosch (109-for-176 on 1,428 yards passing for eight TDs and seven INTs) certainly has some viable weapons to work with. Running back Paul Stanton had 11 rushing touchdowns and was 10 yards short of a thousand-yard rushing season last year, while wideout Andrew Fischer averaged 130 all-purpose yards.
Dartmouth Big Green
2014 Record: 8-2 (6-1)
Predicted Record: 9-1 (7-0)
It’s been almost two decades since the Darthmouth Big Green won their last Ivy League title, and this season could very well be the most opportune time to break the curse.
Last year’s Ivy Offensive Player of the Year and starting senior quarterback Dalyn Williams is the team’s cornerstone, throwing for over 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns to just three interceptions last season. His favorite target downfield in wide receiver Ryan McManus will look to top his 879-yard, eight-TD outing from 2014 in his final year playing for the Big Green.
Dartmouth’s defense also looks formidable heading into next week as eight of the team’s top tacklers are heading back onto the field. Having a solid pass rush (17 total sacks last season) week in and week out will be key for the Big Green’s run at dethroning the Harvard Crimson from the top of the Ivy standings.
Yale Bulldogs
2014 Record: 8-2 (5-2)
Predicted Record: 9-1 (7-0)
Expect the Yale Bulldogs to be back in full-throttle with their high-octane offense once again. The Bulldogs led the FCS last season in total offense (571.5 yards per game) and third in scoring offense (41.1 points per game). However, the losses of offensive standouts in tailback Tyler Varga, and wide receivers Grant Wallace and Deon Randall, are huge blows.
But still, Yale has returning QB Morgan Roberts at the helm to lead the offense. Roberts ranked second in the FCS in passing yards per game last season with 3,230 to go with 22 touchdowns in the air and four on the ground. Roberts will lean on North Carolina transfer Bo Hines to pick up where the Bulldogs passing game left off. Hines had 45 catches for 616 yards for the Wolfpack in 2014.
However, not making any significant improvements on defense might prove to be Yale’s undoing, especially if they want to stay in the thick of the race for the Ivy League’s best record (the team surrendered 539.1 yards per game in 2014). Take note: the Bulldogs’ two losses from last season were at the hands of Harvard in Dartmouth, including the heartbreaking 31-24 loss to the Crimson in last year’s season finale for the Ivy title. Yale lost both of those games by just a touchdown.
Princeton Tigers
2014 Record: 5-5 (4-3)
Predicted Record: 4-6 (3-4)
Co-Ivy champions with the Crimson in 2013, the Princeton Tigers were far from being their competitive selves with a meager 5-5 record last season.
The Tigers may be in for a rough start this season as the team has yet to decide whether junior Chad Kannoff or senior Kedric Bostic will be the team’s starting quarterback. As of the moment, Kanoff – a pocket passer at heart – is poised to land the starting gig. He’ll benefit from the return of senior wideout Seth DeValve in the lineup after only playing two games last year due to an injury. DeValve has 89 career receptions to date playing for Princeton.
However, the Tigers’ defense, which allowed an FCS-worst 341.4 passing yards per game last year, still looks in disarray; more so now that linebacker and Ivy Co-Defensive Player of the Year Mike Zeuli is no longer with the team. Yet, Princeton can still count on All-Ivy corner Anthony Gaffney (eight career picks, with three from last season) to keep the secondary afloat. To boot (pardon the pun), kicker Nolan Bieck and punter Tyler Roth are still around for the Tigers’ solid special teams.
Brown Bears
2014 Record: 5-5 (3-4)
Predicted Record: 6-4 (4-3)
Don’t be deceived by the lack of originality of the Brown Bears’ team name. This was a team that had no returning starters on offense and just three on defense from the 2013 squad and still posted a respectable 5-5 record in 2014.
This season, the Bears will have seven starters from last year’s offensive lineup back in action, beginning with star wideout Brian Strachan. The 6’1” senior will look to continue his role as quarterback Marcus Fuller’s favorite target after hauling in 56 catches for 668 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Fuller, on the other hand, had a pretty good season as well, throwing for 2,618 yards, 15 TDs and seven interceptions.
Brown’s defense is also in good shape after brining back six starters from last year. The front seven will look to be as imposing against the run as it was last season, led by seniors Zach Sparber along the trenches and Ryan MacDonald in midfield.
Penn Quakers
2014 Record: 2-8 (2-5)
Predicted Record: 4-6 (2-5)
With highly-revered head coach Al Bagnoli taking his talents to Columbia, it’s now up to 29-season Penn coaching staff member Ray Priore to try and bring the Quakers back to prominence. Once a dominant force in the Ivy League, the Quakers have been anything but dominant after posting back-to-back dismal losing records in the past two seasons.
Now that Penn’s myriad of injury woes from the previous season behind them, Priore can focus on the development of junior quarterback Alex Torgersen, who threw for 2,689 yards and 14 scores last season, but also had 11 picks. Torgersen might have a tough time working with a weak receiving corps, though, as wideout Justin Watson seems to be the only proven producer with 42 receptions as a freshman last year.
And while the secondary saw no significant upgrades in the offseason (the unit allowed 25 passing TDs in 10 games last year), prolific hybrid lineman/linebacker Tyler Drake and a stout Penn front seven are still at large. Just take a look at Drake’s amazing numbers in 2014: 58 tackles (8.5 for losses), six sacks and two forced fumbles with one recovered.
Cornell Big Red
2014 Record: 1-9 (1-6)
Predicted Record: 1-9 (1-6)
Even with 17 returning starters from the 2014 squad – tied with Princeton for the most in the conference – the Cornell Big Red still have a largely unproven roster. It will be up to running back Luke Hagy to carry the team on his broad shoulders once again after putting up 734 rushing yards on the ground, 200 yards through the air and six total TDs last season. The senior also just became the school’s first-ever player to rack up 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving.
Cornell’s offensive line best be prepared to create holes for Hagy to run through, because all this squad did last year was create holes for opposing pass rushers to slip by and amass 33 sacks that was spread across the team’s four starting quarterbacks.
As for the Big Red’s D, 2014 Ivy Rookie of the Year in safety Nick Gesualdi will look to take the seconday to new heights, while inside linebacker Miles Norris (71 tackles with seven for losses and 4.5 sacks) need more contributions from Cornell’s front seven if the team has a remote chance of containing the rest of the conference’s powerhouses.
Columbia Lions
2014 Record: 0-10 (0-7)
Predicted Record: 1-9 (1-6)
The Columbia Lions will finally look to take a bite out of the Ivy League and not just pathetically roar towards another winless season. But will the hiring of head coach Al Bagnoli, who has a lifetime coaching record of 324-99 and won nine Ivy titles for Penn, be enough to turn the Lions around, or at the very least put an end to their abysmal 21-game losing streak?
Bagnoli’s first and best move in the offseason was getting quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg from Florida. Bagnoli has close ties to NFL coach and Skyler’s father Marty Mornhinweg, which would explain the clever acquisition. Columbia finally has a somehow credible starter under center for a change and will hopefully fare much better on offense after averaging just 10.3 points per game last season – third-worst in the FCS.
Apart from the addition of Mornhinweg, though, there’s still an evident lack of talent on both sides of the ball. Yet, senior defensive linemen Toba Akinleye and Niko Padilla, who combined for 88 of the team’s tackles last season, will spearhead what should still be a rather challenging D-line both in run blocking and pass protection.
Writer’s Prediction
Both Darthmouth and Yale post identical overall and conference records in becoming co-Ivy champions.
Create a betting account now and outsmart the likes of the academic whizzes from these prestigious Ivy League schools with some cunning college football predictions of your own.
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